It was a long walk out of the Maracanã and a quiet one too. From the dressing room to the door, Spain’s players had to weave their way out. Most of them walked the route in silence, passing by in front of the media, eyes down. They had just produced the country’s worst performance at the World […]
Tag Archives: Spain
Xavi: Enjoy him while you can
… Oh, Xavi. What a player he is, even now, aged 34 and with 250,000 miles on that refined dashboard clock. In fact there was something agreeably warm and nostalgic about seeing that familiar keep-ball trinity, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Lionel Messi once again in action against an English team. Although, with this in mind, […]
The trouble with being Fernando Torres
He used to be The Kid. Now, all too often, he’s The Villain. Time travel back five years or so and he was the Anfield hero, arguably the world’s best center-forward, the grinning fresh face who could do no wrong. Now, when his face pops up on the big screen at the Maracana […]
Heat turning up on La Roja
Heat turning up on La Roja by Graham Hunter Make no mistake about it, Spain’s six-year status as the uncontested world No. 1 international side is about to be attacked with all weapons and — hopefully for the contenders — battered into submission over the next 15 months, starting this week. I say six years because […]
Five Spanish stories for 2013
New year, new challenges. The football will be exquisite, and there’s a good chance that more European trophies will reside in Spain come May. But what will be the key storylines in 2013? Here are five. Not necessarily the top five, but a handful that not everyone is talking about when perhaps they should be. […]
Christmas Crackers – the View from Spain
So the apocalypse failed to show on cue. It has a habit of doing that. It was also supposed to take place on December 12 (12.12.12 and all that), but it finally made an appearance on the evening of December 22, when the backside of Saint Iker Casillas was announced by Chendo, an ex-player and […]
The 100 Best Footballers in the World
The Guardian’s 11-strong international panel of experts set about ranking the best footballers in the world, and end up with their top 100. #99 Diego Forlan Age: 33 Nationality: Uruguayan Team: Internacional The striker became the most capped Uruguayan of all time at the 2011 Copa América and is also the country’s record scorer. That seemed implausible when […]
Michu Promised Spain Call-up
The Swans’ summer signing is set to be rewarded with international recognition following a prolific start to the Premier League season with Michael Laudrup’s side Spain coach Vicente del Bosque plans to hand an international call-up to Swansea forward Michu. The 26-year-old has scored an impressive 13 goals in 18 league games since moving to the Liberty Stadium from Real Vallecano […]
The way we play – An interview with Iniesta
They have seen better nights. Quite a lot of them, in fact. In a village of La Mancha, there is a bar. The village is called Fuentealbilla and has a population of just 1,864; the bar is called the Luján and it is run, as it has been for as long as anyone can remember, […]
Super Santi – Madrid’s loss is Arsenal’s gain
There’s something about Santi Cazorla. He has a strange effect on people. Mention him and there it is: the wide eyes, the enthusiasm, the enjoyment, the sense of discovery, the fun. From Ruud van Nistelrooy escaping the sun at Málaga’s training ground and offering a judgment of unsolicited simplicity, to Xavi Hernández citing him as […]
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